Water is hope, happiness, health, nature, urbanization, industry, energy, food, equality, and much more. This was the message of this year World Water Day. The World Water day is held each year on 22nd of March since 1993. I do believe that water should be everyday topic, not just one day event, but we need to start somewhere. So, let’s say that the official theme of the year (not only of this one-day celebration) will be “Water and Sustainable Development”. The aim of the World Water Day (UN Water event) is to raise awareness and inspire global action. On the internet site of the event (here), which is truly beautiful, the focus is on explaining in simple language why water matters and what is the connection between water and our sustainable future. There are also downloadable materials such as: posters, logos, PowerPoint presentation, event map… and even poetry. Here is the trailer of the event:
Water is also…
The official launch of UN World Water Development Report 2015 took place yesterday too. Not surprisingly, its focus is also on the sustainability (the official title is “Water for sustainable world”). Water resources, being finite and vulnerable, are limiting our progress in each of the dimensions of sustainable development (social, economic, and environmental dimension). The report outlines the interconnection between these three dimensions of sustainable development, provides some information on the specific regional challenges, and proposes some solutions.
For example, the regional challenges for sustainable future for Europe and North America (in connection to the water resources), according to the Report are:
- increasing resource use efficiency
- reducing waste and pollution
- influencing consumption patterns
- choosing appropriate technologies
And the priorities for the next years are:
- improving policy coherence nationally and across borders
- reconciling different water uses
And more on sustainable development from the report:
Sustainable development is recognized as the way to collectively progress as a global society.
The connection between water and progress may seem a bit abstract, since progress can be defined in many ways. So, here is also a video explaining in a simple way the nexus thinking, or the recognition of the connection between water, energy, and food:
And the last one for this post is a TEDx presentation about the Nexus or how to not be a miserable environmentalist:
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